Following the issuing of a limited edition dedicated to the Templar Knights, Visconti now dedicates a superior pen – always in a limited edition – to Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Order and last of the Templars. The pen has been issued in 700 specimens, equals to the number of years that has passed since the death of the Grand Master. The box includes a set formed by the pen, a dagger and a ring reproducing the effigy of the Order.

“Let evil swiftly befall those who have wrongly condemned us – God will avenge us”
―Jacques de Molay

The man who cursed the king and the Pope

Jacques de Molay was the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Templar Order, a medieval military order formed by the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon. The Templars, recognisable by their red-crossed white uniforms, were a beneficent order. This was officially recognised by the Church in 1129 and, since then, it gathered the most skilled fighters and knights in Europe, later called to fight the Crusades. Ironically, the most famous of its members was Jacques de Molay, the last templar, the man who cursed the king and the Pope.

The betrayed knight

Jacques de Molay’s goal was that of reforming the Templar Order and sorting the difficult situation during the Crusades in the Holy Land. Among his enemies, attempting to divert his intents for economical reasons, there was King Philip IV of France. He eventually succeeded in having several Templars imprisoned under false allegations and tortured the knights to wring fake admissions.

The legend of Jacques de Molay

When De Molay unsaid his confession, King Philip condemned him to death, slowly burning him while hanging from a scaffold on the Island of the Jews. The highland is in the river Seine, in Paris, close to the Cathedral of Notre Dame. It was March 1314.
Before dying, De Molay publicly cursed King Philip IV of France and, with him, Pope Clement V, who had dismissed the Templar Order earlier in 1307.
The dramatic execution of De Molay changed the leader of the Templars into a legendary character.

The curse

Before he died, Jacques de Molay summoned King Philip IV and Pope Clement V to God as a Supreme Judge, stating that his judgement would be manifested to them within the end of the current year. This contributed to spread the idea that the Grand Master was wrongly executed and that his curse was effective. Indeed, both king Philip and the Pope died within the end of the year. The belief that the curse continued to strike the French Royal House was later fostered by the episode of the death of king Louis XVI: just before he was executed, the executioner revealed him to be a Templar.

Jacques de Molay by Visconti is a pen inspired by the legendary character of the Templar, by their white tunic and red cross.

On the pen’s body, goldsmith’s art reproduces the templar’s helm, surplice vest and ornaments of the Order.
Finishings are in aged iron and steel.
The seal on the ring carries the symbols of poverty and military arts to recall the Templar’s nature of fighting monks.
The dagger is a reproduction in scale of a templar’s sword.

The set has been issued in a limited edition of 700 pieces (fountain pens or rollers) made of 925 silver. The pen’s body is made in ivory resin and the artistic work is made in aged filigree with silver mesh.
The nib is a bi-color 23-carat Palladium Dreamtouch.

A real collectible, inspired by the values of truth and divine judgment triumphing over mundane interests and wrongs.

If you wish to buy this masterwork of goldsmith’s art, you can get it now from Giardino.it.